I have 2 Kenwood 10's powered by a Profile 600 Watt 600sx. What is the best position for them to sound the best? I know a guy that said he found the best was to angle them into the sides, like where the spare is and I have also heard that having them striaght up into the glass is good too. Any opinions? Anyone tried both? Just curious, thanks for the help guys

Ryan

 

The farther the bass wav has to travel to get to your ear, the better it will sound.

This is why people aim their subs backwards -- because the bass wave has to bounce off the rear of the trunk, and then back up front. this allows the low frequency waves to complete.

Ever notice if you are jamming some bass, and you open up your window, the bass gets deeper? This is because with the window open, the bass wave is able to travel farther, and complete, allowing you to hear the low freq's.

So .... to answer your question, if you mount the subs right in the middle of the trunk, it will probably sound better facing the fender wells (as long as they don't rattle)
But, if you're mounting them on the sides of the trunk, then backwards (or up at the glass) is probably the best bet.

Thomas.

 

This is incorrect. By opening the window you are changing the freq. response of the cabin/box.

Think of the inside of the car as part of a bandpass enclosure.

 

Ummmm, yea we're both right.

By opening up the window, the frequency response of the car changes because the bass wav can actually complete by going through the window.
In effect, you lower the tuning frequency of the bandpass enclosure (the car) by opening the window.

Do you know how long bass wavs can get? I don't know the exact figures, but a 20Hz wav is pretty darn long; and you won't hear the full effect of the wav unless it completes.

Thomas.

[This message has been edited by Stoopalini (edited May 12, 2001).]

 

excess of 15 feet!

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86 T/A 5.0
?????
93 Civic 1.6L
13.5 @ 100 mph

 

Aside from quality, you will get the best storage if you place them facing up, right behind the rear seats, I have had them there and in the drop out in the back, there is way more storage with them right behind the seats.

 

being in the car stero business, I have seen quite a few different setups and heard just as many opinions on what sounds the best... so I'll try to help clear things up. lol
1. pointing your subs backward in the rear of a standard vehicle DOES complete the bass wave and there-fore creates more sound to the drivers ears, again depending on frequency of the wave.
2.Pointing your subs sideways will not give you the sound you want, because sound waves are directional, i.e you want to point the speakers toward you, unless you are trying to reflect off a surface directly in front of or behind you...or changing the direction of the wave as illustrated below...
3. pointing the subs at the glass actually does two things, it gives the bass wave more travel room(develops sooner)and actually uses the glass to magnify the sound by vibrating the glass at that frequency. you can expect anywhere from 6-12db gain just by pointing your subs up. our cars are perfect for this as are most hatchback cars.
4. box size does not matter...wait before you say i'm nuts... speaker manufacturers do give enclosure specs and such, but those #'s are for the optimum frequency of the speaker, but maybe not the one you want to produce. my car has 2 cubic feet per sub in a custom sealed box, seperate chambers, pointed up at the glass.
The frequency of the speakers is rated optimally at 60hz, however my box resonates at 45hz, producing over 154db with two 12" subs when using bass sweep cd's. not bad huh?

[This message has been edited by Tigger84TA89BIRD (edited May 15, 2001).]

 

Smart man in LA once said, build the sub box as big as possible and tune from there. He had something to do with a certain 87 GN before Mr. Clark got ahold of it.

USD/Speakerworks

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86 T/A 5.0
?????
93 Civic 1.6L
13.5 @ 100 mph

 

I hear ya on the large box idea. I just built a ported home sub with an enclosure volume of 160liters. This thing plays flat down to 20Hz I also got lucky, because the driver I used is optimal in the 20Hz range.

For my car though, I didn't want a boomy sound because I listen to mostly Blues and Rock & Roll.
I used a JL 12W0 (resonance freq = 22Hz) and built a small sealed enclosure so I could get loud, tight bass with a small amp (RF Punch 160)

Theres a cool program, called LspCAD that allows you to input the TS paramaters of your speaker and play with box sizes and porting to come up with a box that will do exactly what you want it to. This is what I used to design my home sub, I only wish I knew about it when I was designing my car sub (would have made it a lot easier)

Thomas.

PS) I though sound wavs below 60-80Hz were considered uni-directional? Am I wrong on this?

DOH! I just thought about this question and figured it out.
They are Uni-Directional as far as the human ear is concerned, but the wav is still traveling, which effects the frequency and Db produced.

[This message has been edited by Stoopalini (edited May 15, 2001).]

 

Yeah i have two 12" pioneer 450s there not that great and a power 150 (or punch 150 im not sure)which is also pretty weak, running them. i had my back seat folded down with the subs facing the front of the car and they dident sound that loud or clear. but i decided to turn them around and i have them angled to face the glass instead of directly backward and they beat louder than most of my friends cars that have much better equipment.

 

I would say face them up back in the hole. The sound has to come out either way u put em. I tried it a few diff ways and putting them facin up sounds the best...Hey i got 2 Pioneer 12" 400 watt free air's to hurt my ears...pretty damn good for some cheepys